Less than two months after Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish's investigation into potential corruption within county government offices began, two county administrators have been placed on unpaid administrative leave.
Transformation and information officer Scot Rourke and general counsel Emily McNeeley will no longer receive pay while the probe of their activities continues. In a statement released Monday, Budish wrote the following:
“The investigation of two county employees, Scot Rourke and Emily McNeeley, is still continuing, without any determination yet. At this time, I have made the decision to put them both on unpaid administrative leave. We cannot continue to pay them for not working. If it is later determined that they have done nothing wrong, then we will address their status at that time.”
The duo had been placed on paid leave on February 21. At that time, Budish promised continued support of the investigation, issuing a statement announcing his intention to hire forensic investigators to insure the integrity of all public records sought by criminal investigators, which include county prosecutors and the FBI.
"The Investigator" Tom Meyer first reported about the investigation on February 16, when he discovered that public corruption investigators subpoenaed records regarding high-level county employees and Hyland Software, a county contractor based in Westlake.
Budish’s former chief of staff, Sharon Sobol Jordan was also named in the subpoenas, but she resigned in early February to become CEO of Unify Project.
Part of the investigation appears to focus on Jordan being on county time while she obtained a master’s degree from Ohio State University. A letter written by Budish to OSU and obtained by Channel 3 News shows that the county executive was aware of the arrangement.
Also in question is the county’s relationship with Westlake-based Hyland Software, where McNeeley’s spouse is employed. Budish told Meyer that McNeeley sought a legal opinion from the county inspector general’s office.